Congress Provides More PPP and Health Care Funds

Moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a vote of 388 to 5 the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. The United States Senate had passed the legislation by unanimous consent on Tuesday evening. The legislation is a bridge package between the CARES Act and Stimulus Package 4 which is still under development.

The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act provides an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) established under the CARES Act. The PPP had run out of its initial funding on April 9 and the program has been closed to new applications. The PPP provides businesses with fewer than 500 employees, including ambulance service organizations, with access to loans at favorable terms to cover employee payroll for eight weeks. A borrower can have all or a portion of the loan forgiven depending on the percentage of retained employees.

The legislation also allocates an additional $75 billion in funds for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF). Like the initial $100 billion funding from the CARES Act, these funds are intended to provide economic relief to health care providers during the COVID-19 public health emergency. AAA members received direct grant money a few weeks ago under the PHSSEF in the form of an additional Medicare payment. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will have the discretion to determine how the additional $75 billion is made available to health care providers. The AAA continues to advocate directly with senior HHS officials for ground ambulance service suppliers and providers to receive a share of funds proportional to our role health care providers on the front line of the pandemic.

The final provision of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act provides additional funding for testing and research related to COVID-19 through the remainder of 2020.

The AAA with the help of our members had pushed for additional funding under the PHSSEF and were successful. We now need to ensure that the actual funds make their way to our members.

The AAA leadership and staff will continue to tirelessly advocate for the much-needed relief to ensure that our members can keep their doors open, receive the equipment necessary to protect their staff, and the resources to provide excellence in mobile healthcare. We will keep you abreast of our advocacy efforts as well as how to access funding under the PHSSEF as soon as the details become available.